Warmth and Movement
Thawing
While I may complain about the bitter cold of winter, the truth is that I love Minnesota’s four seasons. One of the most endearing qualities of the seasons involving the transition from winter to spring. Throughout the long winter months, stillness and silence often reigned supreme. A blanket of snow and ice covered the land and lakes. When in nature in the winter, I often had to patient sit and wait before signs of life - a bird, a rabbit in a white winter parka, the occasional deer - appears.
Now, as spring approaches, the silence and stillness are giving way to both movement and a cacophony of sound. With the thaw, the quality of movement returns to the landscape, even as the burst of spring’s colors is still weeks away.
Remembering Winter’s Messages
I am excited by spring’s return. The excitement of spring can be seen everywhere, as though each budding tree and each returning Canada goose Mallard is impatient and hard pressed to make up for perceived time lost over the prior winter. But is rushing, adopting a frenetic pace, to dash about in an effort to make up for lost time what is most compatible with our higher health? Perhaps we would be well-served by lingering, while we can, to the wisdom of winter before it melts away altogether.
Consider that, “you’ll get there faster by going slow.” While rushing about may be enticing, remember to pace yourself. Take time to savor the emergence of spring, even as you savor the thoughtfulness and deeper appreciation of time that comes by slowing down.
We are all hungry to reconnect with friends and family. People suddenly fill the trails and sidewalks as the temperature warms. But don’t overlook the importance of taking time for yourself. Winter seems (to me) to model the importance of solitude. So, perhaps you can oscillate between connection to others and the importance of reflection, contemplation, and solitude as practices the promote a deeper connection to yourself.
A feature of winter I enjoy the most is that getting things done is methodical, a step-by-step practice of incrementalism that focuses on planning well, taking my time, and attending to the details done right. This is in contrast to the big plans of spring. Spring is the season of sensory overload. Everywhere we look, we see something new. Everything seems possible. Our plans become grand or even grandiose. A carryover message from winter is to not allow the big picture of possibilities overshadow the small details, the initial steps, the incremental daily progress we can make that so often in life is what helps us achieve lasting change.